1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for carrying out surgical treatment.
2. Background Art
When a medical practice, such as observation or treatment, is carried out on human organs and the like, treatment instruments, such as an endoscope and forceps, are occasionally inserted through a natural opening in a living body. When a medical practice is carried out in an abdominal cavity, a plurality of openings are formed in the abdominal wall, instead of making a large incision in the abdominal wall. Treatment instruments, such as an endoscope and forceps, are inserted, one for each opening, in some cases. Since this is made possible only by forming small openings in the abdominal wall, it is advantageous that invasion into the patient is minimal and that the patient can recuperate rapidly.
For example, when a tumor has developed in the bladder, forceps are transurethrally inserted into the bladder to remove the tumor. Furthermore, in the case of removing a tumor developed in the mediastinum, a plurality of openings are formed so as to avoid the ribs, forceps and an endoscope are inserted through the openings, one for each opening, and treatment is carried out while the endoscope is used to observe the forceps that have been inserted at a different angle to approach the tumor. The positions and angles at which the forceps and the endoscope are inserted are limited in order to avoid the ribs. In addition, the forceps and the endoscope are required to approach the area to be treated while the forceps and endoscope are tilted at some angles. For this reason, the operation is difficult. When the endoscope is used to perform observation during treatment or to check for any remaining tumor after the treatment, the treatment area is obstructed by the ribs and cannot be viewed in some cases. When transurethral manipulation is used, it is difficult to perform observation while carrying out treatment because the inlet of the opening is narrow and there is no space for forming a plurality of openings. For these reasons, forceps being configured so that their tips are bent inside the body and endoscopes that can be bent inside the body have been conventionally developed.